Jacob Salomons
Biography


Jacob (Jake) Salomons was born In the Village of Niehove, The Netherlands into a musical family of 8 children. In 1953, at the age of 8, he emigrated with his family to Rocky Mt House, Alberta, Canada. The family moved to Red Deer, Alberta in 1955.

His early exposure to music was primarily due to his parents’ involvement in the First Christian Reformed Church of Red Deer and the weekly family gathering around the manual pump organ. Sundays were spent singing hymns and Bach Chorales with all family members, cousins, Aunts and Uncles as well as many friends from the church community.

It was there that his extraordinary musical ability was noticed by his family and members of the community. A business in Red Deer, The Nance Company, heard of his love for music. Of their own volition they purchased a violin for Jacob and supplied him with lessons for the next number of years.

Jacob's first exposure to the guitar occurred a few years later when a friend of his sister Hilly brought a guitar to the house and showed him how to play a D chord. This event stayed with him and after months of pleading and begging his parents bought him his first guitar. He managed to tune the guitar using the same D Chord he was shown the previous year.

His interest in guitar led him through a number of different styles of playing including rock and folk music until at the age of 17 he was introduced to classical guitar after he was introduced to an Alberta guitar maker, Frank Gay. While visiting with Mr. Gay, he heard his first classical guitar being played by now SanFransisco guitarist George Sakellariou who lived and taught in Edmonton, Alberta at that time. This introduction led to a life long love for the guitar in all its forms.

He began to teach himself Classical Guitar first by studying pictures of Andres Segovia for technical reference and copying music from Classical guitar recordings, recordings of Flamenco Guitar as well as recordings of Zither music. He had his first classical guitar lesson at the age of 24 and at the age of 25 he auditioned for the University of Calgary Music program.

Since guitar was not an instrument that was recognized at the University of Calgary at that time, he was accepted for admission but not as a guitarist. Instead, he was accepted as a voice major. He became a student of the late renowned baritone, Alexander Gray. Mr. Gray instantly recognized that he had a very gifted student in his studio; not gifted as a voice student but very gifted as a guitarist and musician. Jake was invited to accompany Mr. Gray in a number of recitals in that first year. This led the Music Department at the University of Calgary to allow guitar as an applied instrument and Jacob Salomons as it’s first offical Classical Guitar student.

At the time there was not a guitar instructor on the faculty of the University and Antonio Rivas, a Venezuelan guitarist , was hired to teach Jake. Unforunately this lasted only one year as Jake’s ability grew exponentially and once again he was forced to teach himself within the music program at the University of Calgary. The musical environment in which he found himself stimulated his creative ability.

In 1973 Mr Salomons attended his first master class with the legendary Venezuelan guitar master Alirio Diaz at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Subsequently he attended 3 additional master classes with the Venezuelan master in both Arles, France and Banff, Canada. For the next few years he had all the inspiration he needed to advance his technical and musical skills under his own direction.

In 1974 he co-founded the Classical Guitar Society of Calgary with his former teacher Antonio Rivas. He served the Guitar Society in various offices including President, Artistic Director, Newsletter Editor and as Director at Large for at least 15 years.

In 1979 he began his studies with Oscar Ghiglia during master classes for 3 weeks every summer for the next 8 years. At the invitation of Mr Ghiglia, he spent a year at the Musik Akademie der Stadt Basel in Basel, Switzerland in special studies. He was the first senior guitarist to be offered this study opportunity in the history of the Akademie.
In 1980 as a result of a student petition, Mr. Salomons was offered the position of Guitar Instructor at the University of Calgary and remains on the Faculty of the Music Department to this day. His students represent approximately 80% of the best known Classical Guitar Instructors in the city of Calgary.

His performances include many solo and duet recitals throughout Canada and The United States of America, as well as solo performances with a number of Regional Orchestras throughout Western Canada. He has performed in a number of Musical Theatre productions at the Banff Center and in Calgary and has performed with such luminaries as The Fine Arts String Quartet of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has served as an accompanianist for famed Tenor, Luciano Pavaroti.

Mr. Salomons has adjudicated many music Festivals in Alberta and Brittish Columbia and has conducted master classes throughout Canada.